Outdoor Education

The outdoor education program provides stimulating and challenging experiences outside the classroom. The Director of Human Development and faculty lead week-long trips at the beginning of the 7th and 9th grades that create class unity for students coming together for the first time. Each trip highlights team-building activities and offers personal challenges that allow students to succeed personally as well as within a group, to gain self-confidence, and to feel a part of something larger than themselves. Life-long friendships often are formed, and students are offered wonderful possibilities for personal growth and to discover the talents and skills of their classmates.

The objective of this five-day outing is to inspire environmental ethics and build class unity through team activities. Set in the mountains in Big Bear, CA, the camp location is a unique and pristine environment for the students’ rustic outdoor classroom. Academically, this trip is relevant because the information learned in this outdoor classroom ties into the ecology unit of the seventh grade science curriculum.

The ninth grade trip, like the seventh grade trip, aims to establish a sense of class unity, and is crucial in this year of major adjustment. Students spend five days at White's Landing on Catalina Island and are provided with opportunities for hiking, snorkeling, kayaking, and canoeing as they expand their knowledge in the areas of marine ecosystems and ecology, natural history and geology. In addition, students are engaged in team-building activities in both small and large groups, with the goal of bringing returning students and new students together as a cohesive unit.

The 12th grade trip is the last time the Senior Class is together before they graduate. Its main focus is to provide a meaningful time of reflection, bonding and closure. This five-day program takes place on the Ocean Mesa, El Capitan Canyon Camp. Activities include river rafting, mountain biking, kayaking, surfing, hiking, and rock climbing. The activities are meant to inspire teamwork, as well as help students share leadership responsibilities and reinforce cooperative learning. The week closes with “The Pine Cone Ceremony,” a personal time of sharing class memories, challenges, and celebrations around the campfire.